My New to Me 88 or 98 chevy or Winnebago

[FastGlassman69]

Just signed on here recently. Bought a Winnie Chieftain 22, trying to get it registered. The NY title says it's a 1998 Chevy but naturally the Winnebago sticker on the door says incomplete Chevy chassis built 9/87 . Have a woman that does a my dmv stuff, she says it will get done but the dmv will have to research it and should come back with a 1988 title as a Winnebago? I didn't want to just let it go thru with the 1998 chevy title if some LEO ever saw the door sticker and had a problem with it, not into silly impounds and stuff! I ran a title check on it and it's not like it is stolen or anything. milage checks out at 78000, no accidents or anything and the VIN matches, so i'll just wait. Spent 3 days scrubbing off the dirt and tree marks, it looks much better. Will let you know when the plates come! Thanks for having me here! Bobby

[Rickf1985]

Welcome to the forum. We can solve just about any problem but I think you may be on your own with that one. I went through that with a boat in NJ. They had the wrong VIN numbers on the title, and the insurance. It went years back, I got a lot of paperwork with the boat when I bought it. I didn't want to let it go for the same reason as you. I have been boarded by the Coast Guard several times and a go fast boat is a magnet. I took pictures of the boat, hull identification number, pencil tracings of the HIN and took it all to the MV agency and as expected it was a fiasco. Took a month and several investigations but I finally got it right. Best part is that I did get boarded later that summer just as a courtesy check and the top dog knew the boat and the previous owner. I told him about the mix up and he was amazed since they had gone over the boat in the past and never caught it. I even showed him some of the old insurance papers from when he would have done it and he just stared at the wrong number and kept going back and looking at the hull number. Everyone had a good laugh but I would bet there was some serious discussion about inspections later that day in their office.

[eXodus]

Welcome to the Forum !


Wait until it comes back. You've got matching VINs ?


Did you put the VIN in one of the car parts sites on the web ? (autozone, autoparts plus) which year does shows up there ? 
Maybe the sticker is wrong.

[MotorPro]

the 98 chevy title would be correct

[tiinytina]

Guessing typo on someone's part somewhere along the line and noone noticed it RV's for some reason cause major confusion at some DMV's...  but get it straightened out as in some states 25yr+ means no emission testing etc...  but as a 98 wouldn't qualify for exemption.  Just one more thing to consider with getting it corrected.

got a horse trailer once donated to a group I worked with, someone had put a weld over the VIN while fixing it... took weeks and weeks to get it registered etc... oye.  worth it in the end though. 

Tina

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

This is not that hard to resolve.
Does it look like this?
1988: http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1988/pdfs/winnebago/88-Chieftain-bro.pdf
1989: http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1988/pdfs/winnebago/88-Chieftain-bro.pdf
1990 http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1990/pdfs/winnebago/90-Chieftain-bro.pdf
or this
1998: http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1998/pdfs/winnebago/98-Chieftain-bro.pdf

Build date of 9/87 indicates 1988 on most likely a 88 John Deere chassis. 
I don't think Winnebago started using the Ford 53 chassis until early to mid 90's.

John Deere VIN started with 17N
Chevy P30 started with either 1GB or 1GC
GMC P30 started with either 1GD or 1GT

Dave

[FastGlassman69]

Well called the lady that does my dmv stuff. She said not to fret , but it will take 7 to 10 days to get it right. I'm not in a hurry but would like to drive it to my friends shop 3 blocks away to work on it inside, lol!

[FastGlassman69]

Well I don't think that Winnebago left it on their lot for 9 0r 10 years waiting to build it, lol! I'm sure it will be fine.

[FastGlassman69]

Yes Dave it's 1GBJ and it looks like the 1st pics you sent, exactly! Thanks for the reassurance that i'm not nuts! Bobby

[FastGlassman69]

Like you say in your post ,I can see a year difference, but not 10 years W%

[FastGlassman69]

Yes I paid $6.99 for a complete title history, Vins match and it comes back as a 1988 Chevy, not thefts, junk, accidents,etc. So I'm confident it will be straightend out sooner or later! Thanx, Bobby

[FastGlassman69]

Oh yeah Tina, all that emissions crap had me the most worried, as My friend and I road race his 1964 Corvair convertible and he has built hundreds of bigblocks like the one in his corvair and in the Winnie. We are going to get rid of all the crap and make it run efficiently , then I plan on putting a 4l80 or 6l80 overdrive trans in it . And also change the belt drive system over to a serpentine belt drive so I only need to carry one spare belt! Benn reading all I can on here , you guys are all great! Thanx, Bobby

[pvoth1111]

how about a pic of the RV.... I'm sure that would help folks here help you .....cosmetically there's a lot of difference between late 80's coach's and late 90's coach's.....a pic of the VIN and there a smart guys here that can tell ya what it is quick...

[FastGlassman69]

UpDate on my 88 cheiftain, it's in Plates are on and it is registered as a 1988 Winnebago

[M & J]

Here is the best place to get manuals. 1 year or lifetime membership get you access to not only all chassis manuals, but probably the coach and most if not all of the appliances and the genny.
More than worth it. Welcome to the forums.

http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php?action=store;cat=59